<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>One man’s trash is another man’s treasure by Arya_Skywalker</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168043">One man’s trash is another man’s treasure</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arya_Skywalker/pseuds/Arya_Skywalker'>Arya_Skywalker</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Giant spider - Freeform, Human AU, M/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate September (Sanders Sides), Spiders, Telepathic animal companions, Tentacles, unspecified tentacle monster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:07:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168043</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arya_Skywalker/pseuds/Arya_Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Soulmate September Day 3 - You have an animal that only you and your soulmate can see. </p>
<p>AU: generic human soulmates AU (the animal companions here communicate telepathically with their human, but not their human’s soulmate)</p>
<p>Virgil never wanted a soulmate. He especially didn’t want anything to do with the village idiot. But fate is a mysterious thing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>TSS Fanworks Collective</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One man’s trash is another man’s treasure</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this is my first official fic on AO3, yay! I did post it on my tumblr (arya-skywalker) originally, so you may have read it before. I will be slowly adding more of my old fics on here, as well as new ones. Hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil turned up the volume of his music as he wandered to the docks, drawing his jacket close to ward off the brisk sea breeze. The seaweed stench was stronger than usual, but he couldn’t resist the allure of the mist rising from the water.</p>
<p>Except he wasn’t alone. The young man scowled and took off his headphones, turning to look at the source of splashing. </p>
<p>A weird dude was throwing fish at the end of the dock. “Eat up buttercup! Yeah there you go!” he cheered.</p>
<p>Virgil blinked, then walked closer, curiosity overcoming caution for the moment. He had heard rumors of the village idiot— that the man would eat anything, that he was a werewolf, that he had a basement full of bodies, that he talked to ghosts....</p>
<p>He froze once he saw what the man was feeding. There was terrifying tentacle creature catching the fish. Octopus? Giant squid? A kraken? Cthulhu? Virgil’s jaw dropped as he stared. And the creature <em>waved</em>.</p>
<p>The man turned and grinned. “You see him too, huh? Guess I’m not crazy after all! C’mon, he doesn’t bite. You can help feed him if ya want.”</p>
<p>“I... you.... crazy, right,” Virgil stammered, shaking his head. “Uh, no thanks. I’ll stay back here.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m Remus! And if you can see Duke, then I’m pretty sure that means you’re my soulmate!” He stuck out a slimy hand to shake, his grin broadening.</p>
<p>Virgil blinked. “Wait... what? He’s your....?” He took a small step back. “No, no, no... <em>fuck</em> no!”</p>
<p>Remus shrugged. “Well, where’s your buddy? Your animal companion? If I can see them, then the bond goes both ways, right?”</p>
<p>“Uhh.... I guess....” Virgil ran a hand through his hair, then sighed. “*<em>Ara? </em><em>You</em> <em>wanna</em> <em>come</em> <em>out</em>?*”</p>
<p>“*<em>Coming</em>!*” her voice chimed in his mind. A rather large but fuzzy spider skittered over and stopped by his side, nuzzling his hand. “*<em>So</em> <em>he’s</em> <em>the</em> <em>one</em>?*”</p>
<p>“Oooh a spider! That’s rad, dude!” Remus bounced up and down.</p>
<p>Virgil groaned and dropped down to sit on the edge of the dock, guiding the cat-sized spider onto his lap. “Soulmates are a flawed concept anyway,” he muttered, stroking Ara’s bristles. “Some ‘higher power’ playing match-maker for us poor mortals.”</p>
<p>“Well... I’m not strict or anything.” Remus sat down a few inches away. “A lot of people don’t really like me. So if you don’t, I don’t blame you. And if you wanna leave, I won’t stop you. But, well, something wants us together so that’s gotta mean something, right?”</p>
<p>Virgil didn’t answer, staring out at the waves. He never wanted a soulmate. He never tried to find his. And yet... here they were. Stuck together forever.</p>
<p>“*<em>Breathe</em>. <em>In</em> <em>for</em> <em>four</em> <em>seconds</em>, <em>hold</em> <em>for</em> <em>seven</em>, <em>out</em> <em>for</em> <em>eight</em>,*” Ara’s voice chimed in his head, one of her legs tapping rhythmically on his arm to keep count. Virgil closed his eyes, grateful for her grounding presence as always. The soft roar of the sea and distant call of gulls were the only sounds to break the silence.</p>
<p>Eventually, Virgil looked back at his new-found soulmate. Bright green eyes stared at him, concern and curiosity shining through. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s weird,” Virgil grumbled.</p>
<p>Remus shrugged. “Well, you got a name? Or should I just call you emo?” He giggled a bit.</p>
<p>“Emo is fine.” He hesitated a moment, then blew his bangs out of his face. “But my name is Virgil.”</p>
<p>“Virgil eh? Cool name.” Remus smiled and stuck out his hand again. “Nice to officially meet my soulmate!”</p>
<p>Reluctantly, Virgil shook the weirdo’s hand, then quickly wiped his hand off on his pants to get rid of the fishy slime. Shower tonight, definitely. “So.... I guess if we’re stuck together for eternity, we might as well get to know each other,” he said after a few minutes.</p>
<p>“Ask away! I’m an open book.” Remus grinned and lay on the dock. “We can take turns asking stuff if you want.”</p>
<p>Virgil rubbed his arms. “Uh.... alright.” He glanced around for ideas. “So... what do you do? Like for a job.”</p>
<p>“Fisherman mostly,” Remus said with a shrug. “Duke helps.” He smirked and sat up. “And I pick up trash and stuff, then turn it into art. Wanna see?”</p>
<p>“Guess it couldn’t hurt.” Virgil grunted and stood. “Is that your question?”</p>
<p>Remus giggled and hopped to his feet. “Nope! But either way, you asked a non-question too, so we’re even! C’mon, c’mon!” He jogged down the dock.</p>
<p>A few minutes later, they arrived at a rather run-down shack overlooking the bay. Buoys were tied to netting along the walls and a chipped sign read, “Kraken’s Grotto: tack, art, and treasure”.Remus held the door open, bouncing up and down again. Virgil rolled his eyes and stepped inside, then blinked and looked around.</p>
<p>The place was a mess. But on closer inspection, it was an <em>organized </em>mess. Sculptures made of scrap metal in one area. Other recycled art in another. Shells and sea glass by the window. Bait and tackle and other fishing gear near the counter. Virgil stopped by a metal dragon with eyes of sea-glass. “You... made all this?”</p>
<p>“Yepper-doodles!” Remus grinned. “All from stuff Dukey and I find around the area. You like art?”</p>
<p>Virgil shrugged. “Uh, yeah. It’s cool,” he said. “Sometimes I sketch stuff. Doodling helps me focus.”</p>
<p>“Doodling is the best, man. What kinda stuff do you doodle?” Remus sat on the counter, kicking his legs out.</p>
<p>“Just... stuff. It’s stupid.”</p>
<p>“We don’t like using that word here,” Remus said, suddenly serious. “Nothing is stupid. Just different.”</p>
<p>Ara bumped up against Virgil’s leg. “*<em>I</em> <em>like</em> <em>him</em>. <em>Give</em> <em>him</em> <em>a</em> <em>chance</em>.*”</p>
<p>Virgil reached down to pet his animal companion with a sigh. “Whatever. Not stupid.” He looked back at the sculptures, noticing that most were monsters of some sort— skeletons and tentacle creatures, grotesque mutations, grim reapers. “Umm... you like horror stuff?”</p>
<p>“Hell yeah! The darker the better!” Remus hopped off the counter. “What’s your favorite monster?”</p>
<p>“I’m a sucker for vampires,” Virgil said, then blushed heatedly and coughed. *<em>Stupid</em> <em>pun</em>. <em>Terrible</em>. <em>Corny</em>...*</p>
<p>But before he could stammer out an apology, he realized Remus was laughing. Full on belly-laughs. Pounding the counter with his fists and crying tears of mirth.</p>
<p>Virgil swept his bangs out of his face. “You... uh.... like puns and stuff?” he asked tentatively when it seemed like Remus had gotten himself under control.</p>
<p>“Dude I love that kind of humor!” Remus giggled again, then looked down at the spider. “Hey, can I pet her? I promise I won’t be rough.”</p>
<p>“*<em>I</em> <em>don’t</em> <em>mind</em>,*” Ara said, nuzzling Virgil’s hand.</p>
<p>“Uhhh.... sure. But go wash your hands first! They’re gross, dude. And I’ll show you how to pet her without hurting her.”</p>
<p>“Yay!” Remus clapped his hands, then ran off, presumably to the bathroom.</p>
<p>Virgil lowered himself to sit on the floor, running a hand lightly against the worn wood slats. Ara curled up on his lap, chittering softly.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before Remus returned, sitting across from with a grin. “Squeaky clean!” he said, holding up his hands. </p>
<p>Virgil rolled his eyes, then sighed, stroking his spider gently. “Alright, so, you need to stroke along the bristles. If you try to go against them, you’ll get pricked and it might hurt her. Got it?”</p>
<p>Remus nodded excitedly, then reached out and repeated the motion, as if afraid he’d break her. “Like this? Is this good?” he asked.</p>
<p>Ara leaned into their touch, making happy purr-like sounds. <em>“*Tell your soulmate he’s doing well</em>.*”</p>
<p>Virgil coughed. “Uh, yeah, that’s right,” he said, feeling a ghost of a smile. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>